Two sweeps for Colorado State volleyball player Megan Plourde

All-Region honor is fourth for senior; Dana Cranston also on team

Colorado State senior Megan Plourde was named to the All-West Region team Tuesday, becoming the first Ram earn the honor four times.
(Steve Stoner)

Megan Plourde has consistently said she's surprised where she's at, and the statement leans in a couple of directions.

The Somerset, Wisc., native wanted to stay close to home for college, and hoped to land at Wisconsin or Minnesota, but the best both volleyball programs could do is offer her a shot to walk on. In the meantime, Colorado State coach Tom Hilbert was consistent in his contact and insistent in the fact he really wanted her to be a Ram. That meant something to her, so she ended up in Fort Collins.

But the biggest surprise to Plourde is where her career ended up, and every time she has an honor bestowed upon her, she is genuinely humbled and appreciative. In short, she's been surprised an awful lot, Tuesday the latest instance.

A week after being just the second player in Mountain West history to be named all-conference four straight years, Plourde became the first Colorado State player to earn All-West Region honors four times and the first one in Mountain West history. She is joined on the team, released Tuesday by the AVCA, by teammate Dana Cranston, while Brieon Paige was an honorable mention pick.

"It's just crazy every time I get something like this," Plourde said. "Having Tom believe in me from the beginning and know that he could develop me into the player I am, that's what I'm so grateful for."

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Plourde is positive Hilbert had more faith in her than she did in the beginning, and most people -- including herself until her junior year in high school -- felt she would play basketball in college. But Plourde quickly caught on to just how good she could become. She finished the season averaging 1.53 blocks per set, which ranks in the top 10 nationally. She also averaged 2.91 kills per set, and the Mountain West leader in hitting finished the year at .358.

With four-year totals of 1,066 kills and 620 total blocks, she graduates as one of only two Rams to end their careers with more than 1,000 kills and 600 blocks.

Hilbert said she was good when she started and improved each and every year. This year, her numbers were down, not because of her play, but because rotations were changed for the good of the team that took her out of two rotations, and she took it in stride.

"She's fundamentally very good, her movements are very good," Hilbert said of Plourde's blocking. "She was a better attacker this year, even though it's hard to judge that, because more people released on her and Brieon this year than last year. Megan was a significantly better player this year than last year, but it isn't always going to show up in the numbers."

Cranston was named the Mountain West player of the year after a season in which the senior averaged 3.62 kills and 4.28 points per set, and her .277 hitting percentage led all outside hitters. Thrust into the role of the main offensive weapon for the Rams, she struggled with the change mentally, but came out better for it at the end.

"I think so. In the middle of all of it, all I'm trying to do is get better, and nothing is ever good enough," Cranston said. "That's the way it has to be, and that's the way I took the whole season to be, because I was never satisfied. I just feel like this tells me that my work went to a good place, and that the effort I put in had production on the court, which helps."

Paige finished her final year hitting at a .357 clip, just behind Plourde in the conference, averaging 2.57 kills and 0.97 blocks per set.

This marks the sixth straight season at least two Rams have been named All-West Region, which is comprised of teams from California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. Because of the honor, Plourde and Cranston will be nominated for AVCA All-American consideration. Last year Plourde was a third-team selection, the 10th player in program history to earn the honor. If she is so named again, she will be the third Ram to be named All-American more than once.

She said she doesn't try to think about it any of it, because she doesn't want to get disappointed. Ploudre will graduate this semester, and three days later hopes to extend her career with a tryout with a team in Puerto Rico.

"I get surprised sometimes when I do receive these honors, but I guess hard work does pay off," she said. "It's pretty cool to get these. It's just so incredible to me still. It truly won't hit me and I won't be able to wrap my mind around it until I'm graduated. Maybe next year I can look back and take it all in. It's been so incredible. I'm very, very blessed. I'm so happy how everything turned out."

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